This invention relates to a security shade which is on the back of a vehicle seat and is movable to either extend a cargo floor when the vehicle seat is stowed or to conceal a cargo area from view from the exterior of the vehicle.
Many vehicles, such as hatchbacks, minivans, and sport-utility vehicles, have a cargo area located in the rear of the vehicle. This cargo area and its contents are often viewable from outside the vehicle. For privacy and security reasons, it is desirable to prevent passers-by from viewing the contents of the cargo area.
The prior art includes security shades that are extendible and retractable to alternatively conceal the cargo area from view from outside the vehicle, and to permit access to the cargo area by the vehicle user and to accommodate larger items. Prior art security shades typically comprise a flexible fabric panel wrapped onto a spring-loaded roller tube. The roller tube is rotatably mounted to the interior trim of the vehicle behind a seat assembly and extends transversely across the width of the vehicle behind a seat assembly. The flexible fabric panel is extendible and retractable across the cargo area. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,224,748, issued Jul. 6, 1993 to Decker, et al.
On many vehicles, the seat assembly is stowable or collapsible to expand the cargo area. Prior art security shades that are mounted to the interior trim of the vehicle may create a physical obstruction in the expanded cargo area when the seat assembly is stowed. Some prior art security shades are detachable from their mounting to avoid obstruction of the expanded cargo area. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,039,105, issued Mar. 21, 2000 to Patmore, et al., which illustrates an attachment device intended to facilitate the installation and removal of a security shade from a vehicle. Although detachment of the security shade eliminates physical obstruction of the expanded cargo area, it is not ideal because it requires an additional vehicle user action and a place to stow the security shade.
The cross body motor vehicle security shade described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,213,387, issued May 25, 1993 to Decker, et al., eliminates obstruction of the expanded cargo area when a seat assembly is stowed because the roller tube is positioned along a side of the vehicle and the flexible panel extends transversely across the vehicle to cover the cargo area. However, flexible fabric security shades may involve certain disadvantages such as being cumbersome to extend and retract.
Some prior art vehicles include trim panels movably mounted within the vehicles and configured to close gaps between seat assemblies and vehicle cargo floors. These trim panels are commonly referred to as xe2x80x9cclose-out panelsxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cflipper panelsxe2x80x9d by those familiar with the art. An example of a flipper panel is found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,716,091, issued Feb. 10, 1998 to Wieczorek.
The present invention provides a multi-function panel for use in a vehicle that has a stowable seat assembly adjacent to a cargo area. The seat assembly typically includes a seatback member and a seat cushion member. The seatback member has a cargo load surface that is opposite the seating surface, and that generally faces the cargo area when the seatback is upright. When the seat assembly is stowed to expand the cargo area, the seatback member is positioned such that the cargo load surface faces generally upward and functions as a cargo floor for the expanded cargo area.
The panel is mounted with respect to the cargo load surface and, when the seatback member is upright, is movable between a first configuration in which the panel is stowed by laying along the cargo load surface, and a second configuration in which the panel is generally horizontal and extends above or over the cargo area.
When the seatback member is in its stowed position, the panel is preferably movable between a third configuration and a fourth configuration. In the third configuration, the panel rests along the cargo load surface of the collapsed seatback member, thereby preventing its obstruction of the expanded cargo area. In the fourth configuration, the panel extends from a point on the cargo load surface to a point beyond the cargo load surface, and functions to either extend the length of the cargo floor formed by the cargo load surface, or to close a gap between the collapsed seatback member and a second seat assembly.
The panel may be pivotably attached directly to the surface of the, seatback, and may be variably extendible and retractable to accommodate the situation where the length of the panel necessary to conceal the cargo area from view is different from the length necessary to extend the cargo floor or stow the panel.
The present invention improves upon the prior art by providing a mechanically simple security shade that does not obstruct the cargo area when the adjacent seat assembly is collapsed or removed. The present invention also improves upon the prior art by combining a security shade and a flipper, or close-out, panel, thereby reducing the number of parts and therefore the weight and complexity of a vehicle.